Author Archives: Scott Selikoff

Announcing the OCA: Oracle Certified Associate Java SE 8 Programmer I Study Guide

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Jeanne and I are pleased to announce the upcoming release of our Oracle Certified Associate Java 8 Study Guide for the Java SE 8 Oracle Programmer I exam! We have been working with Wiley Publishing for the past year to bring this book to light, and are thrilled to announce it is nearing completion. Our goal was create a book that is engaging and fun for new and veteran developers alike. The book covers all of the new features that you are required to know for the OCA 8 exam including: the Local Date/Time API, the Period class, lambda expressions, and more. And of course, it covers the “old” topics as well.

scott-and-jeanne
The book, to be tentatively titled OCA: Oracle Certified Associate Java SE 8 Programmer I Study Guide: Exam 1Z1-808, will be available for purchase later this year on Amazon.com and wherever books are sold.

Oracle has already published a beta version of the Java SE 8 Programmer I exam, with the official version to be available in the coming months.

Please visit our new OCA: Oracle Certified Associate Java SE 8 Programmer I Study Guide page for the latest information about the book. If you have any questions for us, feel free to post in the OCA forum at CodeRanch, which Jeanne and Scott visit frequently.

AT&T Grandfathers Unlimited Data Plans with iPhone 5 [CONFIRMED]

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Following the much anticipated announcement of Apple’s iPhone 5 today, a single unanswered question has been weighing on my mind. Will AT&T customers with existing unlimited data plans still be grandfathered in if they choose to purchase a new iPhone 5 at the subsidized prices ($199 for 16GB, $299 for 32GB, $399 for 64GB)? The answer is here, and it is a resounding “yes”!

CONFIRMED [9/12/2012]: According to today’s AT&T press release, users with unlimited plans will definitely be able to keep them:

“We are thrilled to offer iPhone 5 on the nation’s largest 4G network. We’ve worked with Apple since the original in 2007 and this is hands-down their best phone yet,” said Ralph de la Vega, president & CEO, AT&T Mobility. “We offer customers the flexibility to keep the iPhone data plans they already have or choose any of our individual or new Mobile Share plans. We’re proud that more customers choose AT&T for iPhone than any other U.S. carrier and look forward to making iPhone 5 the newest addition to our lineup.”

Verizon’s Poor Customer Service Decision

Avid Apple enthusiasts may recall that Verizon nixed unlimited plans for subsidized upgrades back in May 2012, a poor customer service move indeed. While Verizon still allows users to keep the plans by purchasing the unsubsidized iPhone, it does not make a lot of sense to spend hundreds of extra dollars on what may amount to $5-$20 per month (or nothing at all) in savings on the tiered plans.

Two AT&T Representatives Confirm Grandfather Rule

I called AT&T (1-888-333-6651) and spoke with a woman named Patricia, who assured me that as long as I upgraded my phone to an iPhone 5 through an AT&T representative, I would be able to keep my plan. She did caution me against upgrading at the Apple Store, not because it was not allowed, but that because last year some less-educated customers accidentally signed up for a new data plan at the Apple Store, and as AT&T will tell you, “Once the unlimited data plan has been removed, it cannot be added again”.

I also used Live Chat support on AT&T’s website and spoke to a person name Andre who confirmed that information; the transcript is posted below:

You are now chatting with Andre S., an AT&T sales representative.

Andre S.: Welcome to AT&T online Sales support. How may I assist you with placing your order today?

Scott: Hi Andre S. I currently have an unlimited Data plan for my iPhone 4. Will I lose this unlimited data plan if I choose to upgrade to an iPhone 5 at the subsidized price?

Andre S.: Hi Scott!! I'll be happy to assist you today with your inquiry.
Andre S.: You will not lose your data plan if you upgrade to a new phone.

Scott: even the iPhone 5 with LTE?

Andre S.: No matter which phone you get.

Scott: does it matter if I order via the Apple Store or the AT&T store?

Andre S.: It would not matter you will still be keeping your old plan.

Scott: Thank you

Disclaimer: I do not work for AT&T and cannot guarantee that, even if AT&T has a company-wide policy of grandfathering plans, your particular representative will be able to upgrade your phone without accidentally losing your data plan. As always, buyer beware.

OS X Mountain Lion Kills Parallels 6

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It seems I am unable to perform at least one Mac OS X upgrade without finding some major faults. This morning, Apple released OS X Mountain Lion, and like its predecessors, there was at least one show-stopping problem following installation – namely, that Parallels Desktop 6 no longer works.

Following installation of OS X Mountain Lion, upon startup, Parallels Desktop 6 shows the following message:


The only known solution at this time is to upgrade to Parallels 7 for $50.

Official Response

Parallels has posted a response on their website

A Senior Member of the Parallels team, whose username is YanaYana, has replied in the Parallels forum that although Parallels Desktop 6 will be continued to be supported for years to come, this does not include making it work on OS X Mountain Lion. The Parallels representative also commented that select users were offered a free upgrade to Parallels Desktop 7 for a short period when OS X Lion came out, although many users have commented they were not notified of the offer.

Abandoning Parallels

One user hit the nail on the head when they wrote “Is it worth to pay $50 more for a $20 OS upgrade?”. In fact, I have decided that unless Parallels fixes this issue or offers me an upgrade, I will not be purchasing a Parallels product ever again as a form of protest. After all, there are plenty of alternatives, such as VMware and VirtualBox, which I would rather use.

Update [07/26/2012]: As one user on the forum noticed by reviewing the Google cache, Parallels, Inc recently changed it’s policy to exclude Parallels Desktop 6 from working in OS X Mountain Lion: Knowledgebase article. See if you can spot the difference between the previous and current version of the page:

Before:


After:


Looking at older versions of the article shows that it had been active for months with the Parallels Desktop 6 text. Therefore, it is reasonable to suggest a user could have purchased Parallels Desktop 6 in the last year, believing it would work with OS X Mountain Lion. This smells of bait-and-switch tactics. Perhaps it is time for a class action suit?